Cortlandt's Carter-Costello Sets Sights on 40th Senate District Seat

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By SUE GUZMAN

February 17, 2016 at 5:14 PM

HUDSON VALLEY, N.Y. - Cortlandt Town Councilwoman Debbie Carter Costello is tossing her hat into the ring in the 40^th Senate District race for the seat currently held by Republican Sen. Terrence Murphy.

“I did very well in my race for town councilwoman and had a lot of crossover support, and recently I had several people approach me to run for state senate,” said Carter Costello, who was elected to the Cortlandt Town Board in 2013.

She said lowering tax burdens on the middle class is a key priority as well as affordable housing, and would look for ways to make it less expensive to live in Westchester and the Hudson Valley. 

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Carter Costello also vowed to be a full-time Senator if elected: “Right now, Albany is plagued by corruption. There's been elected officials on both sides of the aisle who have gone to jail for corruption and I think it's very important to be a full-time legislator. If you're off doing something else, that's what leads to those problems.”

As a councilwoman in the town of Cortlandt, Carter Costello has spearheaded anti-drug efforts including organizing Narcan training sessions as well as heroin and drug abuse panels for the community. She was also instrumental in implementing the so-called “Solarize Cortlandt” program, an initiative designed to help homeowners find affordable ways to purchase and install solar panels on their homes for energy efficiency.

Carter Costello is a resident of Verplanck. She is married and has two daughters. She is currently working for TDX Construction in New York City, where she runs the MTA Small Business Mentoring Program.

Costello is the second Democrat to enter the race. Andrew Falk of Patterson, an attorney with a practice in Brewster, who has run unsuccessfully for State Assembly and Patterson town supervisor, announced earlier this month that he will challenge Murphy. Murphy has said he plans to seek re-election, but a formal announcement is not expected until March 5.

The 40^th District includes Somers, Yorktown, North Salem, Lewisboro, Peekskill and Cortlandt in Westchester, as well as Carmel, Patterson, Southeast and Brewster in Putnam County, and Beekman and Pawling in Dutchess.